110 
Transactions of the 
of urate of soda under various conditions, and endeavour to draw 
therefrom inferences in explanation of the aberrations above noted. 
1. Uric acid from the urine of the boa, white in colour, crystal- 
lized in long rectangular plates, was dissolved with the aid of heat in 
liquor sodae (Br. Ph.). The acid was added in small quantities until 
no more was dissolved. The liquid was filtered and left to crystal- 
lize. The urate was deposited entirely in spheres. The spheres 
were sharply outlined, brownish, very regular ; in diameter from 
inch downwards; some were clear in their interior, some 
granular ; sometimes marked with concentric zones of lighter and 
darker colour ; sometimes gathered in conglobate masses. 
Fig. 1. Smallest ; clear ; inch. 
Next, granular, to toVo inch. 
Larger, zonate, row to rw inch or more. 
These forms did not affect polarized light. 
2. The precipitate from the above was collected on a filter, washed 
with cold water, and afterwards dissolved in boiling water. The 
solution was neutral. On cooling, long, curved, pointed needles were 
deposited. They were partly matted, were partly in not very 
regular radiating masses, and resembled very closely the needles of 
gouty deposit in cartilage. 
3. A weak solution of gelatin, which formed only a very thin 
scarcely coherent jelly on cooling, was prepared. It was clarified 
by albumen, but not further purified. In this a portion of the 
precipitate of No. 2 was boiled, the quantity of precipitate being 
in excess of the solvent powers of the liquid. The liquor was 
gradually cooled to 40° Fahr., and then formed a soft jelly. The 
urate was deposited in a fine molecular condition. The molecules 
were gathered into irregularly spherical masses, which were soft 
and friable on the least pressure. There were no firm, separable 
spheres, and there were no crystalline or other structural forms. 
4. To a solution prepared and treated as in 3, acetic acid was 
cautiously added, before cooling, till a faint acid reaction was ob- 
tained. The next day there was a large deposit of brilliant, highly- 
refractile spheres with smooth surface, some homogeneous, some 
with faint, radiant, internal disturbance. These spheres were of 
about twice the diameter of blood-corpuscles, and were mixed with 
molecular deposit as in 3. See Fig. 4. 
5. A similar solution treated with large excess of acetic acid. 
The forms were now decidedly the forms of uric acid as known 
to be deposited in gelatin. They included large halberds, diamonds, 
pointed ovals, and small rhombohedra. See Fig. 5. 
The foregoing experiments tending to show that with acid 
urates spherical forms were assumed, further investigation was 
made in this direction. And with very interesting result. 
